And Sew Forth

The museum curator Margaret Abrams is deep into preparations for an exhibition on Christian Dior’s legendary 1947 “New Look” collection when mysterious packages start arriving. First a scarf with a “sentimental pattern of hearts, flowers, hot‑air balloons and pairs of dogs,” then a brooch, then another scarf — this one tartan and accompanied by a menacing note: “What side are you on?” Margaret is mystified. What is there to take sides on about the French designer whose work exemplifies “artistry and unapologetic beauty”?

A lot, it turns out. For one thing, as a visiting fashion historian explains, the strange items that keep appearing are “coded signals of the Resistance.” They hint at questions about Dior’s conduct during the Nazi occupation of France, an issue raised more explicitly by a reporter probing the designer’s relationships with people later condemned as collaborators. Margaret’s intern Keitha also keeps pestering her about the corsets used to create his...